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General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.

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Old February 6, 2019   #1
hazeldazel
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Default Potting Mix ingredients?

I'm starting to think about this coming year's container garden and especially what I should fill the containers with. The problem is that most of the online resources call for compost. My local gardening stores don't sell compost. Okay well they do but it's either wood chips or bags of Miracle Grow. Not what I would call compost. The city doesn't offer compost to residents because they sell it all to farmers.



So, here's my plan but I need help:


*coco coir bricks
*perlite
*bone meal
*blood meal


Is that enough? or do I need to amend with some other stuff? The containers are grow bags with automatic drippers. I tried coir + perlite + bag of planting mix + once weekly masterblend last year and while I loved the coir and perlite, I could tell that I wasn't getting enough food to the plants.



Hit me with your potting mix recipes!
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Old February 6, 2019   #2
edweather
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I would seriously consider something along these lines. Do your research. I've used this mix for about 10 years now, with very good results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixp_UI6AfwU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oFtE0O-fHA
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Last edited by edweather; February 6, 2019 at 08:33 PM.
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Old February 6, 2019   #3
PlainJane
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I’m also switching to a 5-1-1 blend, tweaked a bit for my N. Florida conditions. I love Urban Farms TTF liquid fertilizer; that will be the primary nutrition source.
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Old February 7, 2019   #4
Tomzhawaii
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Aloha,
I also love using coco coir. It has been quite a learning curve. My mistakes were not understanding how to prepare it , before use. All the experts say rinse before using. I didn't. I finally used a hydroponic flush to get rid of the extreme sodium inside the coco. With a huge rinse of plain water after that. The next problem is that coco coir has natural properties that can react with liquid nutrients and cause lockout. I have also doubled my Cal-Mag for tomatoes. Lettuce and others do better at normal doses. Coco with care can last for years. I will break down, but add in some clean chunky coir and your back in business. Good luck and Aloha
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Old February 7, 2019   #5
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https://www.maximumyield.com/benefit...co-coir/2/1507
This that might explain better than me
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Old February 7, 2019   #6
zipcode
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If they don't seem to have enough food it's probably because they don't have enough. Once per week masterblend is low for what is essentially hydroponic style growing.
The best way to do it is daily feeding with overwatering (so called drain to waste). When dealing with chemical fertilizers, that drain is imo essential to have a headache-free growing (salt buildup and nutrient lockdown, big swings in pH, etc).

Also, I personally think coco coir is inferior to good peat.
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